Improving Vertical Jump with 4 Exercises

Jumping is an essential part of basketball. Without good vertical jumping abilities, you probably aren’t gonna make a lot of your basketball career. However, if you are bad at this, there’s no need to feel bad as improving vert jumping is actually not that hard.

It is a widespread opinion that good vertical jumping ability is what you’re born with. However, that is far from being true. In fact, a good training can help you get way better. Exercises designed to strengthen your calf and leg muscles will make you superb in vertical jumping.

These 4 exercises have been proven to provide benefit on the muscles that are employed during vertical jumps. Practice these exercises on a regular basis and you will surely become a better basketball player!

Jumping Rope

This is one of the best whole-body exercises as it engages a huge number of muscles. On top of that, rope jumping will also improve your coordination, while because it’s an aerobic exercise, it will also help you burn some calories. You should think about making jumping rope your starter exercise as it is a great way to make the blood flowing through your whole body. Because of that, this exercise will also reduce the chance of getting an injury, particularly in your ankles and feet.

Still, the reason why we recommend jumping rope to wannabe-basketball players is that it can improve their vertical jumping ability. This is because this exercise strengthens all the muscles that are used for vert jumping. Jumping rope makes you jump all the time, which not only makes your jumping muscles stronger, but also adds to your endurance.

Squats

If jumping rope will improve your endurance and help you have strength to jump during the whole game, squats will help you get a better reach. This exercise makes your legs powerful, which is essential for high jumps. Still, the trick here is to do the squats properly.

Mind that you need to improve your jumping reach with this exercise, which is why you need to do it explosively. Do the deep squats by slowly going down, while leaping up with an explosive force. This way, you will make your leg muscles strong enough for jumping higher.

Plyometric Training

The most popular plyometric exercise is box jumping. Basically, this exercise will make your jumping reach better, while also improving your endurance. The proof that box jumping is extremely efficient is the fact that the Toronto Raptors have made the exercise compulsory!

The thing that you need to be careful about is not to get hurt. You need to stay focused and make sure your feet land on the box safely. This way, not only will you improve your leaping ability, but also your movement coordination.

Jumping

In order to improve your vertical jumping ability, any kind of jumping exercises can be beneficial. Whether it’s jumping rope, box jumping or some other exercise, doing it regularly will surely make you get closer to the hoop! But, if you want to make a real difference, stick to the exercises recommended by the vert shock program, which is probably the most comprehensive method for getting better at jumping.